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Elderflower 75
St Germain is an elderflower liqueur made using the petals of the black elderberry plant from the Savoir in France. The Savoir is located in the Auvergne Rhone-Alps region of Southeastern France. It has a population of close to 440K people and is known for its numerous ski resorts. The fondue Savoyarde, Tartiflette, and saucisson are well-known culinary delights from this area. Each bottle of St Germain is numbered with the year that the petals of elderflowers were collected. They are collected each spring over a period of three to four weeks and are often transported by bicycle to collection points to avoid damaging the petals and impacting their flavor.
St Germain was launched by Cooper Spirits Co in 2007 and was created by distiller Robert Cooper the son of Norton Cooper who owns Charles Jacquin et Cie a major French alcohol maker. Sadly in 2016, Robert died at the young age of 39.
I have a delicious recipe for my favourite cocktail to make with St Germain which is an Elderflower 75 which is a take on the French 75. The recipe is as follows
Elderflower Syrup
Elderflower cordial or elderflower press as it is known is often made in many European countries, especially in the north and the Balkan countries. In some European countries, they even make wine from the berries of the plant. In Hungary, they produce a brandy made from elderberries and to make it they need 50 kilos of fruit to produce just 1 litre of the brandy. Sweden and France both produce popular liqueurs from elderflowers and in Belgium, they even create a beer from the berries.
Many people use elderflowers as fritters or in tempura. It’s not very French I’d have to say but it does sound delicious but doesn’t anything dipped in batter and fried sound delicious? Wherever you might use edible flowers you can use elderflowers in the recipe. You can make an herbal tea from fresh elderflowers which is light, fruity, and delicious. But you can also do this with dried elderflowers as well.
If you are growing your own elderflowers then one of the best things to make at home is some delicious Elderflower Syrup. Here’s my recipe for homemade Elderflower syrup.